Merry Christmas!!

Best wishes for a Merry Christmas from Pleasure Divers!!

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas...

Rob and I have been working hard decorating the shop for the holidays. In addition to our decorations we also have some specials going on. Some of those specials include 10% off all BCDs to buy a pair of Tusa X-pert Zoom fins and get a free snorkel. Come in and check out all the deals as well as our fabulous decorating skills!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

Well, my CompuMask got wet this weekend! I went to the pool with my loving father to try out my new mask as well as the Omega Flip Fins. We spent some time swimming around and then traded gear so we could both experience the new "toys" first hand. Check out the pictures below...

Me and the new mask. I kind of feel like saying "Luke, I am your sister."

Tom with the flip fins on and his Omega shirt!

Tom checking what time it is. He must have a hot date or something!

Tom clicking through the CompuMask display.


Tom testing out the new fins. They really move!

Now those are some knees! And some sweet fins in the up position for ladder climbing.

We love the CompuMask. The display works great and it's always right there. You never have the excuse that you didn't know how much air you have when you run out! I have to say as this was the first time that I've ever worn a mask with a black skirt, I think I like it better than a clear skirt. I can't wait to use the mask on a real dive.
The fins are amazing as well. The ability to essentially not even worry about your fins is great! You just put them on, put the rest of your gear on, get in the water and start kicking! Then with two quick clicks the fins are out of the way and you can get out of the water with ease! I wish I thought of it first!

Kapitol Reef Snorkels are here!

Our Kapitol Reef Snorkels came in today! They look great and we can't wait to try them out. Stop in to check one out!
Don't know how a Kapitol Reef Snorkel works? Check out this animation to learn all about it.

Here are some of the benefits that set these snorkels apart from others in the industry:

• Regulates Exhalation Pressure
• Maintains lung volumes
• Separates inhaled air from exhaled carbon dioxide
• Stays amazingly dry
• Reduces snorkel panic
• Perfect for all experience levels and ages

The Snorkels were featured in Sport Diver Magazine and received it's highest gear guide award!

More New Divers!!

Congrats to Shawna, Mike, and Jim!! Our newest Open Water Divers! These three braved the 49 degree water to finish their certifications last weekend with Rob. Hopefully we will see them in another class soon. Hopefully not diving in the cold water any more this year though!!

My Aussie Adventures Featured on UQ's Website

While I was in Australia many of you were reading my blog about my adventures. While I was there I was contacted about having my blog on the Centre for Marine Studies website to show potential students how much fun their Australia's Marine Environment course really is. I said yes and forwarded along some pictures with my blog entries. The final adjustments and edits have been made and both my Lady Elliot Island and North Stradbroke Island entries are on their website. They are slightly different than my original entires, but the important parts are all there.

Check it out at... http://www.cms.uq.edu.au/index.html?page=70025

Be A Diver

Are you ready to be a diver?

We're BACK!!

Well, we are back from DEMA and we still have all our fingers and toes! We had a great time and learned ALOT!


Joe and Tom got certified to service and repair TUSA regulators and SpareAIR. Joe is now officially able to service OceanReef full face masks. Joe and I are now Mares Master Lab certified, and all of us are PSI/PCI Visual Tank Inspectors. We also learned about MANY new products and collected some t-shirts, pens, and keychains along the way.

As you can see from our shirts we all like to have fun. The shirts were a hit and everyone knew we were together!
We will be getting in some new products soon that we checked out and ordered while we were there. Check back or stop in to see the new stuff!
Oh and just to add to it, while Joe and I were trapped in class from 8am-7pm Tom went to a seminar at the last minute and entered a drawing. Little did he know that he'd win the grand prize... 7 nights, all dives, breakfast and dinner in St. Lucia at Anse Chastenet Resort! Congrats to Tom!!

Headed South

Joe and I will fly to Orlando, FL tomorrow afternoon for the only international trade only event for the scuba diving, water sports, and adventure travel industries, the DEMA Show. DEMA is run by the DEMA organization(Diving Equipment & Marketing Association). With predictions of 11,000+ industry professionals meeting this year it's sure to be a good time. Joe and I will be joined by Tom later in the week to take several classes on gear repair and servicing, tank inspections, seminars on new and upcoming products offered by manufacturers from around the world. We hope to learn alot, meet some great people, and bring back some exciting information and maybe products! See you when we get back!

A few congratulations!

Jamie brought in the last of the paperwork for his Advanced Open Water Diver certification today. Once we submit everything it will be official. We'd like to say Congrats to our newest Advanced Diver!

Steve also has done all the paperwork and taken the test for his rescue certification, so Congrats to the new Rescue Diver! We hear that Divemaster and maybe instructor certifications may be in his future!

Rescue Diver Class

The weather held out for us this past weekend and helped make our Rescue class a success. Friday night and Saturday morning was the Emergency First Responder course. We practiced the new guidelines of 30 chest compressions to 2 rescue breaths and got to try out the AED. Saturday afternoon was spent in the Holiday Inn pool practicing rescue techniques that would be put to use in the open water. Sunday was sunny and 75 degrees which is unheard of this late in October. The wind was a bit strong making the in water rescues a challenge with the waves and current.
Joe T., Rob and I took turns being victims that needed rescuing, while Steve, Joe G. and Kari worked hard to save us. Check out some pictures of the students in action below!

Rob explaining the situations to Steve, Joe G. and Kari.

Me busy being saved!

Ahhh!! The "recovery position". With those rocks I needed to recover from the recovery position!

Kari taking in the beautiful afternoon.

Rob in need of a rescue!

Joe T. enjoying some O2!

Joe T. and his lifesavers!

It felt like diving in a washing machine, but above water it was a beautiful fall day.
Now the students just have to take the final exam and they will be official.
Check back for congratulatory notes!

Let's go diving!!

Underwater Digital Cameras

We are having a special! If you buy an in stock UW digital camera and sign up for the Digital Underwater Photographer Specialty course you get a discount on the price of the camera! With awesome packages available and some of the newest technology there's nothing to loose! Just imagine the memories you can capture on your next dive!
Stop by to see some of the pictures taken with the cameras displayed around the store.

Atomic Aquatics

Well, Pleasure Divers is proud to announce that we are now an Atomic Aquatics dealer. We have the full line of regulators and masks, as well as the "Smoke on the Water" fins. Atomic has the only Titanium Regulator on the market and continues to roll out more great new products.
Some reviews include...

The T2 regulator:

"There’s only one regulator in this year’s contest that falls in the Over $500 category, and oh what a reg it is. This powerhouse reg smashed all previous records for low work of breathing on the ANSTI simulator and for in-water performance, collecting more Excellent scores than any regulator we’ve tested." SCUBA DIVING Magazine, JUNE 2005

The SS1 BCD Inflator Hose Alternate Regulator:

"To accomplish this, Atomic Aquatics' engineers started with a low-profile elliptical case designed to lie flat against a BC, then added oversized, contoured controls. On the inside, they used the same technologies and materials as on their high-end primary regulators, fabricating corrosion-resistant components from a combination of titanium, zirconium/nickel-plated brass and 316 stainless steel. To enhance airflow, they increased the size of airways and orifices.
No doubt about it, Atomic Aquatics has raised the bar with the SS1, creating the first safe second that really could be compared to a high-performance primary. And the best news: it will fit on most any brand of BC, thanks to a unique adapter device." Sport Diver Magazine - August 2003

"Smoke on the Water" Split Fin:

"This impressive new fin gets its name from the smoky transparent panels on its long split blades. They are a bit more flexible than previous versions of the Atomic Splitfin, but still generated the highest thrust measurement of all the fins in this review. The Smoke on the Water fins also tied for the fastest speed score among open-heel fins and slashed through the slalom course with a top-three performance. In ergonomic tests, it was one of only two open-heel fins to earn an Excellent rating from test divers for Acceleration, and it also earned the highest score possible for ease of donning and doffing, thanks to the new spring straps with oversized finger grip. Firm rubber rails produce great power with little effort and provide stability with all kick styles.
TEST DIVER COMMENTS 'The perfect balance of comfort, speed and maneuverability'... 'An all-around great fin made better with the spring strap'... 'Power and control: What more can you say?'
BOTTOMLINE The numbers and the comments speak for themselves, as did the consensus of test divers in naming this fin a Testers’ Choice among open-heel split fins."

The reviews speak for themselves! Stop in and check out all the new Atomic products!

Northeast Dive News

Have you read Northeast Dive News lately? Lake Champlain and the Historic Preserve Wrecks were recently featured. Oakledge Park in Burlington was also recently featured and was the host to the DUI DOG Days last month.
Stop in and purchase your own copy of these issues or sign up for a year long subscription and get 50% off the subscription price!

Where has the time gone?

So, I've started the first semester of my senior year of college. Having been gone to FIU and UQ has made Plattsburgh seem foreign in ways. It seems strange that I feel like 6,000 or so students is too many when FIU and UQ are like 25,000+. I think that it's because I'm driving to classes rather than walking. I've found routes that avoid as much of campus as possible which seems to have given me some sense of sanity. I like Plattsburgh when it's in the sleepy summer state and now that all these "invaders" are here I want my city back. It's kind of ironic because I am/was one of the "invaders," but such is life.
So far my classes seem good. It's a bit of a switch from Australia where we didn't have homework for each class period. I've gotten all of my textbooks. $370 bucks or so. one of the books includes simulation software which has a floppy disk in it. It was odd because I haven't seen a disk like that in years. Hopefully I'll find a computer that has a sloppy disk drive so I can use it!

Looking good!

Well, Rob and I have been putting my dad to work at the shop. The bathroom has been painted blue and white, as well as a new faucet that you don't have to turn about 86 times to get water out of it. A new light fixture, toilet paper holder, and paper towel dispenser are in the works! Also some new shelving has gone up and more to come.
I've been working on some new displays recently. The Shaka Shoes have a snazzy new home and some good looking signage to go with it. Hopefully we will get in the new regulators soon and I can finish that display. That is if we can find the time.
Things have been busy at the shop and we are working on some more eLearning certifications!
Congrats to the new PADI Open Water Divers!

More cold water diving

On Monday I went up to Joe's house and dove Upper Chateaugay Lake around Moffet Island with him. Joe rented a pontoon boat so that all our gear as well as getting in and out of the boat was a bit easier than in his boat. The boat probably was slower than we could've gotten out there on the DPVs, but that's life. The Narrows between the Upper and Lower Lake are beautiful and open up to views of the Upper Lake and the surrounding mountains. Just gorgeous. We had quite the time trying to get the boat anchored and ended up tying it to the island essentially which worked out well for our entries and exits. The water was nice at the surface, but at about 22 feet the thermocline was enough to take your breath away. It was almost as dark as night and colder than I'd felt in years down there! Our max depth was maybe 50 feet but it felt like we were at about 100 it was so cold and dark. We weren't prepared for the darkness so we went along with Joe's backup flashlight for a while until we got cold. I kept close as I couldn't see much. We didn't find much that was exciting, an anchor, fishing pole, and an old plate. Rob's tape measure went missing but Lowe's will have a good replacement.
After diving I met Joe's wife, Mary, and we had dinner and then returned the boat. The three of us and the dog, Molly, went out for ice cream and a tour around the Lower Lake. Upon returning to Joe's house we met a Great Dane. The contractor working on the house next door had brought his dog along. I don't know that I'd ever been that close to a Great Dane and when he puts his 125+ pounds of weight against you, you better be ready! :-) Sweet dog though.

Farewell to the Donellis

Last night the Pleasure Divers gang and families got together to wish John and Cathy a farewell. We ate at Livingoods here in downtown Plattsburgh. It was a warm evening and those that sat in the booth area were very warm as there wasn't alot of air circulation. Good laughs and great meals were had by everyone. Hopefully their home here will sell soon, and they will keep the 30 years of memories had in that house. We will miss them both and hopefully visit them in Naples.

Back in Lake Champlain

Well, last weekend I went for my first dive back in Lake Champlain in atleast 3 years, maybe more. I had forgotten how much I didn't enjoy full 7mm wetsuits, plus gloves, hood, and booties. I was spoiled in the Keys and Australia with not wetsuit or a 3/2 mm suit. It wasn't too cold, and it was a beautiful day. I went with John, a Divemaster Candidate, for his mapping project. We entered just south of the Essex, NY to Charlotte, VT ferry at Begg's Point Park. There wasn't much to see besides a few dozen golf balls and several tires. I did find a pair of sunglasses and half a cell phone. Those came out with me. We made two dives, about an hour each. John's map turned out great. He even made a little Powerpoint presentation about it and the surrounding area, including pictures.
We've been very busy at Pleasure Divers, and I've been working hard. Today we were so busy that I didn't get to eat lunch. It's good for the shop to be getting the business, but I'd also like a few minutes to sit and eat.
I've been running the compressor for almost 2 hours every day this week. I'm to the point were I'm not scared to use it. The next task will be blending Enriched Air. That could take a while!
In the past few weeks we've managed to strip the wallpaper in the downstairs bathroom, paint it yellow, sand, stain, and polyurethane the vanity cabinet, and install the new GFCI outlet, new light fixture, towel bars, and pictures. It turned out great. We also pressure washed the deck and paint/stained it with 2 coats of gray. This place is really shaping up!

Going Back In Time

Well, I am back in the US of A now. From the time I left my apartment in Australia until I landed in Burlington was about 42 hours. Not much sleeping happened in that time but life goes on. The only delay I had was on the last flight, from New York's JFK to Burlington. Figures it's the last flight! The trip from Australia to LA was interesting because we left on Thursday at 12:30 pm and arrived on Thursday at 12:15 pm. Flying like 8,000 miles in negative 15 minutes, not bad!! Not much excitement otherwise. I mistakenly started driving on the left side of the road my first time back behind the wheel. Luckily it was on the dirt roads of Westford, VT with no other cars around. I have adjusted to the time quite quickly, but the sun setting so much later has confused me. It would be dark at about 5 pm in Brisbane when I left and it's just getting dark now at 9pm. I've got most things unpacked and laundry is going, so that means I'm really back. I'll miss Australia, but I also missed home and am glad to be back. I hope you've enjoyed reading my adventures in the land down under! Cheers!

True Story

Living in Brisbane for the past 4 months I've seen the Story Bridge many times. I'd always hears about the Sydney Harbor Bridge Climb but have yet to do it. When I heard about a bridge climb right here I decided I had to do it.

The day after I got back from Cairns I was off to climb the biggest bridge in Brisbane! I paid my student rate online and had my confirmation printout in hand when I arrived at the HQ of the Story Bridge Adventure Climb. Through out the preparation and the actual climb I learned some very interesting information about this bridge.

Opened for operation on July 6, 1940, the Story Bridge is the largest steel bridge designed, fabricated and constructed in Australia by Australians. The Story Bridge was one of the then governments’ three major public works projects, creating years of employment for many men during the Great Depression. Construction took five years, one year longer than planned, and Queenslander, Dr John Bradfield(same man that designed the Sydney Harbour Bridge) was Consulting Engineer. His design team prepared approx 600 working drawings, and interestingly design for the bridge was based heavily on that of the Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal. The overall cost of the bridge was about £1,492,000 and seven years after completion, the State Government sold the Story Bridge to the Brisbane City Council for £750,000. This was only paid off in 1999. The Bridge runs north/south joining Kangaroo Point to Brisbane City and Fortitude Valley.

The bridge is 1,072 meters long from the southern to northern anchor piers and the Bridge’s summit is 74 meters to ground, similar in height to a 22-story building. Currently the bridge is repainted every 7 years using 17,500 litres of paint. I don't think I'd enjoy that job! The approx 1.5 km climb route takes you over the(on average) 70,000 cars cross the bridge everyday. There are more than 1100 stairs climbed up or down during the entire 2 1/2 hour journey. The road on the bridge is called the Bradfield Highway, and is the shortest highway in Australia. It is not to be confused with the Bradfield Highway that spans the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The weather cooperated and the rain stopped overnight and cleared enough for an amazing 360 view. There were 8 others climbing besides me in our group, including two men using gift certificates for their 60th birthdays. I was the only foreigner and definitely the youngest in the group. Still had an absolute blast and made a great way to wrap up my time in BrisVegas.

Cameras aren't allowed on the climb, but I purchased a paper copy of 3 of the shots they took which I hope to scan in at some point soon. To get an idea the 1 minute promotional video from their website can be found at... http://storybridgeadventureclimb.com.au/download/storybridge_1min.mov

Here I am post climb in my suit. Very stylish, I know. I asked if I could take it home, but they wouldn't let me.

Frame worthy

A few of my favorite pictures I took on the Great Barrier Reef... Enjoy!unicorn fish
Interrupting turtle lunchtime

Ardeadoris egretta nudibranchInside a giant clam

Lionfish on the night dive
Pink anemone fish
clownfish trying to hide
turtle heading up for a breath of air.



Video Clip of John and Michele swimming along

Into the Blue

My trip to Cairns last week was an amazing adventure and one not to be forgotten.

My adventure started on June 2nd with the first time I'd been to the Brisbane airport since I arrived down under. This time though I was headed to the domestic terminal which is a short train ride beyond the international terminal. I flew to Cairns on Virgin Blue and took a taxi to a hostel called Tropic Days where I would stay for the night. I walked around the downtown area of Cairns and found The Esplanade which is the boardwalk area near the water. There is a beautiful pool that appears to just extend right into the ocean, many picnic areas and lots of space to enjoy the tropical north Queensland atmosphere. Cairns is definitely a tourist city, and if the Great Barrier Reef suddenly dies that city isn't going to last long.

Sunday morning I was up as the sun was rising to meet the van from ProDive Cairns that picked me up just after 6 am. The van driver was one of the instructors that would be on the boat with us. After a few more stops to pick up others, we all unloaded at ProDive’s downtown location. We sorted out bags, gear, and other last minute details before loading everything back up again and driving out onto the pier to board the boat. Breakfast was waiting for us when we boarded the boat and after a few minutes of getting to know people, room and "safety number" assignments were given out. I shared room 14, which was on the lower level(meaning no ocean view) with Josee, age 22, from Ontario, Canada. I took the bottom bunk in our room and had just about an inch of space to spare between my head and the wall when I laid down. I've decided that Australia isn't used to tall people, and I'm glad to be on the short end of the family.

We took in the views of the mountains that surround Cairns until there was no more land in sight. I managed to spot a dolphin swimming along the side of the boat for about a minute, and after about 3 hours of rocking back and forth, we made it to our first stop, Milln Reef. Once we tied up to the mooring balls the group split up. Of the 32 customers on the boat 11 of us were already certified divers, one was a snorkeler, and the other 20 were open water students. Of the students, about 6 were taking the class in German taught by Instructor Matti, while Dave and Eri took the rest. The diving officer on the boat was Oscar who oversaw the diving activities and did the dive site briefings. The skipper of our 78 foot boat SCUBAPRO III was Mark, and the two cooks were Marie and Freddie.

We did the usual sign your life away paperwork, got changed, and jumped in for our first dive around 11am. The area of Milln Reef that we were on was called Petaj and when I asked there wasn’t a consensus of what that means or where it came from. We surfaced and from there on out it was either dive, eat, or sleep!

Lunch was next and then dive two around 2:30 at the same site, but going out in a different direction. The boat them moved to the section of Milln called The Whale, which because of the coral formation the waves crashing give the illusion of a whale’s blow hole. We dove here at 4:30, had dinner and then after watching the sunset did a night dive around 7:30. We wrapped up the night by looking at some of the pictures that I had taken, watching parts of a Blue Planet documentary and having a snack before bed.

Monday morning we were woken up at 6:45 to make sure we were mostly functional by 7:30 for the first dive of the day. Breakfast was ready by the time we dried off and we motored over to a section of Flynn Reef called Tennis Court. I’ll note that I didn’t see any signs of fluorescent yellow balls or rackets, but was told it got the name because of a large sandy patch off the stern(back) of the boat. Go figure. We did one dive here at 10am, had lunch, and then moved along the reef to Gordon’s for dives 7 and 8 at 3 and 7:30 pm respectively. We had a bit of a scare when the skipper mistook the moon rising between some clouds for a boat on fire, but as we watched worried that something was wrong, it continued to rise and sure enough was just the moon. Tuesday morning we had a wake up time of 5:45 and slipped into the water, literally, as the sun was rising at 6:20 in hopes of seeing some sharks. Being the second buddy team in the water paid off because we found an approx 6 foot long white tipped shark trying to catch a few winks when we found him. We had breakfast again and were back in the water again at a new site, Coral Gardens by 8:30, had morning tea, and did our last dive at 10:30. Once we were out of the water it was a lot of people running around disassembling gear and cleaning until lunch and the boat ride back to Cairns.

I managed to do all 11 dives on the trip and took my camera on ever dive. Over all I took more than 400 pictures which I transferred to my laptop between dives. It was great to share them with people on the boat and in case I do start to forget, I have it well documented.

The group was made up of mostly people traveling around Australia alone and aged 18-35. Most were from the UK, but also Germany, Italy, Canada, and a couple from the US. My dive buddy for the trip was Nick who was traveling for a few weeks with his girlfriend, both from London. We usually made a small group with the couple from the US, John and Michele, for the dives. John and Michele got married late last year, sold their house and cars and are traveling around the world. I shared several of my pictures with them, which are posted on their travel journal at http://www.myworldjournal.com/generic/default.asp?username=john-michele. They told me several stories of their adventures including a visit to Antarctica. They have inspired me to keep traveling and we hope to visit each other’s homes to dive more once they return to the states.

After the trip we carried on the ProDive tradition to go out for drinks on the evening of our return and had a great time exchanging contact info and taking a few more pictures to remember the fun times. Wednesday morning I made my way to the airport and flew back to Brisbane. I spent almost the entire flight sleeping so I would be ready for my next adventure.

I selected some of the 400+ pictures I took. They can be found at the links below. The title of the album has the site, date, and dive number(s) in it followed by the link and the number of pictures in the album.

The GBR Part 1- June 3rd Cairns & Milln Reef- 'Petaj' Dives 1 & 2
http://uqedu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2028644&l=84e1b&id=44801562
# of pictures: 59

The GBR Part 2- June 3rd & 4th "The Whale" Dives 3, 4 & 5
http://uqedu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2028646&l=33b80&id=44801562
# of pictures: 48

The GBR Part 3- June 4th Flynn Reef "Tennis Court" Dive 6
http://uqedu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2028647&l=c7551&id=44801562
# of pictures: 35

The GBR Part 4- June 4th & 5th "Gordons" Dives 7, 8 & 9
http://uqedu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2028648&l=0f799&id=44801562
# of pictures: 56

The GBR Part 5- June 5th "Coral Gardens" Dive 10
http://uqedu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2028700&l=a4a4e&id=44801562
# of pictures: 32

The GBR Part 6- June 5th "Coral Gardens" Dive 11
http://uqedu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2028701&l=643f4&id=44801562
# of pictures: 52

Cairns and drinks with my new friends
http://uqedu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2028702&l=8038b&id=44801562
# of pictures: 18

Also a good place to get a better perspective of where the dive sites are is at the following link… http://www.prodive-cairns.com.au/divesites.html

Cheers!

Playing Catch up

It’s been a while since I’ve last written! Where has the time gone! I went on a field trip to the Port of Brisbane for one of my classes, to the ANZAC Day Parade, and Buddha’s Birthday Celebration.

The purpose of the Port of Brisbane trip was to look at coastal development and I was very impressed with the extensive planning and use of “green” design to make their operations more sustainable. The main attraction is the 1.7km extension of land they are in the process of making using dredge material from the channel through Moreton Bay to the Port. The expansion project uses the material from maintenance dredging. Maintenance dredging is done to maintain the necessary depth for ships in the channels before arrival at the port, and at the actual port along the wharves and jetties. Rather than dumping the material back at sea, the port is using it for the expansion project. Using maintenance dredging material only, the whole expansion is projected to be completed in a 15 year time span. The annual maintenance dredging for the Port of Brisbane is about one million cubic meters of sand, and with a plan to use that material for the port expansion the need to dump it back offshore, or find another suitable location on land has been eliminated for the time being. The port was previously located in several areas further upstream along the Brisbane River, but with the foresight of the growth of the area the main shipping operations were moved out to the current location at the Fishermans Islands. This movement has allowed for a more controlled and well planed facility with greater environmental protection plans and land use which was thoroughly explained to us by the Port’s Environmental Manager who then gave us a tour of the facilities.

ANZAC Day, April 25^th, is similar to Memorial Day in the States. ANZAC is an acronym for Australia New Zealand Army Corps. ANZAC day is held in both Australia and New Zealand on the anniversary of the first major offensive to use ANZAC troops on the shores of Gallipoli in Turkey in 1915. The parade held in downtown Brisbane featured veterans marching from(as you probably guessed) Australia and New Zealand, but also British, Polish, Japanese, and an American Legion group to name a few. There were also quite a few US Army vehicles(with “Caution Left Hand Drive” signs on them) which were used as rides for many of the eldest in the parade. ANZAC Day starts with sunrise services, which started at approx 4:30 am and I thus opted out of, as well as some ANZAC biscuits as a snack. As for the story of said biscuits, some say that they started as biscuits made by the Troops in the trenches with provisions they had at hand to relieve the boredom of their battle rations. And some say they came about due to resourceful of the women on the "home front" in an endeavor to make a treat for their loved ones that would survive the long journey by post to the war front. Where ever they came from, they aren’t bad, especially with some milk.

Buddha’s Birthday I stumbled upon after seeing a movie. I was enjoying an ice cream while walking to the ferry terminal when I noticed the lights and music from the celebration on the opposite side of the river. Curious, I walked across the bridge and explored the festivities. I didn’t actually see much in the way of celebrating Buddha’s birthday. There were many tents with people selling souvenir type items and various foods, as well as a mini climbing wall and a Ferris wheel. Unimpressed by the lack of actual celebrating Buddha I went to the nearest ferry terminal and as I was waiting for the next ferry arrived there was an impressive fireworks display and I had a perfect viewing spot. So, I watched the fireworks and minutes after it ended the ferry came and away I went. In reading online later I found out the traditional events of “washing” Buddha and others happened during the day, so I missed it.

Well, I should have more on my live aboard trip and the Story Bridge climb posted soon.

Lady Elliot Island and Great Barrier Reef Pics

All I can say about my latest adventure is WOW! The Great Barrier Reef really is great. Lets see, where to start… Well, on Tuesday we met at campus for 6:30am to drive to Hervey Bay, about 5 hours north of here. The airport at Hervey Bay is one of the smaller airports I have flown out of. We didn’t have to show ID when we checked in, didn’t go through security, and we were greeted by the pilots in the waiting area. There were 7 other people and the pilot on my plane for the 35 minute flight to Lady Elliot Island, where the eco resort is that we stayed at. Our plane was the first to take off, and it took 4 planes two trips to get everyone out to the island. We landed on the grass/dirt airstrip and joked we were glad that it was low tide and thus would have a longer runway. I got to open the door on my side of the plane which was a first(especially since 9/11), but my long legs were glad to have space again, and I’m sure the guy in front of me was glad too. We were greeted by resort staff and once the rest of the planes landed we crossed the airstrip. We got a tour of the resort, including the dive shop, gift shop, education centre, dining area, bar, and where we would sleep. Some stayed in permanent tents, I stayed in a room with 5 other girls. We did a snorkeling “lesson” in the salt water pool which I could have taught(in case you were worried, I passed). We then had time to relax and hang out until dinner. I walked along the coral beach and waded in the Lagoon at low tide. All the meals were a buffet and no one went hungry! We had a meeting to go over what the next day would be like, things we might see, and then went on a night walk on the west side of the island in search of turtle hatchlings. None were found, but the stars were amazing.

Wednesday morning after breakfast I went diving on the east side of the island, and the instructor and divemaster were glad to have me along as another set of eyes. The pictures really speak for themselves. The diversity of coral and creatures was amazing and it was hard to take it all in, especially since it was a drift dive and slowing down was really up to mother nature. For each dive we set up our gear at the dive shop and loaded it onto a trailer which was pulled by a tractor, we rode in a golf cart(with the steering wheel on the left side, not the right) to the lighthouse beach, put our gear on and walked to the boat, which depending on the tide meant the edge of the beach, or tip toeing through the coral which with the added weight of SCUBA gear was rather interesting. The waters were calm which made for a smooth boat ride, not that we ever were on the boat for more than 10 minutes. Between dives we had plenty of time to rinse off, recharge camera batteries, read, relax, eat a nice lunch, and meet back again for the second dive of the day. To get an idea of where the dive sites were click here for the map.
Wednesday dive 1- Drift dive from Tubes to Blow Hole. 2- Severence Wreck to Three Pyramids.
Thursday 1- Blow Hole to Hiro’s Cave. 2- Spiders Ledge towards Maori Wrasse Bommie.

Wednesday night we got to hold some turtle hatchlings and then release 6 of them which are the mostly dark pictures. Definitely a cool experience! Thursday was more diving and then we saw a slideshow of pictures from our group and the other group from our class that came 4 days prior to our trip. After that when we were walking back to our rooms we nearly stepped on 20-30 turtle hatchlings that were confused by the resort lights. So we collected them in the bucket pictured and were on our way to release them when we found 20-30 more again around a light on the walkway. This time we only had one flashlight and the light from the screen on my digital camera to guide the turtles into the water. Helping with that release was the most rewarding experience of the trip. Seeing the merely days old hatchlings going for their first big swim into the ocean was amazing. Through out the rest of the night about 10-15 more turtles were found, confused by the light and the resort staff took them to be released. It was sad that for an “eco resort” that has been there since 1985 and had hatchings happen every year that they hadn’t done anything to prevent the poor turtles from being mislead. A simple shade like structure on the oceanside of lights or a red plastic film around walkway lights would still allow us humans to see and walk safely, and would ensure the turtles a safe journey to the ocean. I will be writing to the resort to suggest this.
On Friday morning we went for one last snorkel before we had to be out of our rooms and fly back. This is when I saw my first ever manta ray. We also saw 2 eagle rays, one missing a good part of its tail. Well, and then there was all the coral and the thousands of other fish too! Showers and packing until lunch, then a group picture and the first group took off, and I sat at the bar relaxing until my flight at 2. We took a larger plane back. By larger I mean this time about 12 other people were on the plane! Then the bus ride back and the adventure was over. Overall I’d have to say that was one of the coolest trips, let alone field trips for a class, that I’ve ever taken. I certainly won’t forget it any time soon!
Check out the pictures. They are divided up into air and land shots, and then 2 albums of underwater. It was hard to select which ones to post out of the approx 400 that I took! Also below is the link for the resort’s website. Enjoy!

http://uqedu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026079&l=d1b5e&id=44801562
http://uqedu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026082&l=44325&id=44801562
http://uqedu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026084&l=1f43f&id=44801562
http://www.ladyelliot.com.au

The Adventures of Finding Nemo

For my mid semester break I knew I couldn't just sit around and twiddle my thumbs, so I decided to head out to North Stradbroke Island again. My previous trip there for the field trip got me interested, and I figured it was not too close, I could do some diving, lay on a beautiful beach, and not spend an arm and a leg. So my adventures began with taking the train, for the first time here in Brisbane, to Cleveland where the water taxis/ferry and car barges all leave from, taking the ferry across Moreton Bay, and then across the island to Point Lookout. I stayed at the Manta Lodge and Scuba Centre which is a backpackers hostel type place and they run daily dive trips. I got a discount on my bed because I was diving, so my nightly rate was about $24 AUD. Not bad. Due to the Easter holidays space on the dive boat was limited, but Tuesday morning I was up before 7 am for my first dives in the Pacific Ocean. There were 7 other divers on the boat with me, all from the UK, the coxswain(capt) of the boat and the divemaster. I was paired with 3 friends travelling together who were Advanced and Rescue divers. I was the youngest, seemingly the usual situation I find myself in, but I had the highest certification level. It was kind of amusing to have the coxswain and divemaster kind of look at me for approval after their briefings and such. I didn't really care, I just wanted to go diving! We all loaded our gear onto the boat which was on the trailer and were told to climb in the 4WD. We followed the tractor pulling the boat to the beach, drove along the sand until they found a "suitable location" to launch the boat. I think they just liked driving on the beach, but that's just me. We then climbed into the boat and the divemaster backed the tractor and trailer into the water far enough for us to float, he parked the tractor and then swam out to the boat. We bounced along through the waves and wind for a few minutes to our first site and in we went. I was determined to find that little Disney animated fish, Nemo. We followed the divemaster for the dive, through the little swim through tunnel and around the area while he pointed out the wobbegong sharks and a few other highlights. At first I could only find Nemo's cousins, the black and white clownfish, but Nemo was finally found. After several games of peak-a-boo I got a few pictures and also a workout from catching up with the group after the photo shoots. I saw more puffer and porcupine fish than I think I've ever seen and also more black urchins than I could count. There was not alot of soft corals, which I'm not sure was because of the specific site or area. Between dives we had hot chocolate and gummy snakes. The second dive the divemaster let us explore the second half of the dive because he was keeping a close eye on the guy that nearly ran out of air the first dive. So 5 of us went around together while the divemaster brought the air-hog and his wife back to the boat. I found several of Nemo's brothers and sisters, and possibly grandparents(larger and slightly more rusty orange), one of the largest lobsters I think I've ever seen, who sadly was dead and rolling along the bottom in the current, a small lion fish, and a baby shark of some sort. I think he was a grey nurse, but hiding under a rock and only about as big as my arm it was hard to tell and he wasn't about to come out and tell me. Overall two fun dives, and I can now check off Pacific Ocean on my list of dives. The boat ride back to shore had it's own excitement, and not just surfing the waves. The large pod of dolphins that swam around made everyone smile and there were a few attempts to speak dolphin, but I didn't hear any responses, so I don't think it worked. Our beach landing was rather unique and a first for me. We were told that once we hit the beach to jump out and hold onto the boat. So we jumped as instructed, and watched as the tractor pulled the boat up the sand and onto the trailer. The rest of my time on the island was spent reading and listening to music on the beach, or taking walks along the many trails or the white sand. The wind made it so that all the dive trips returned to the 2 same sites for the rest of the week, and either boat problems or not enough space kept me from diving again. I still thoroughly enjoyed myself, got to relax, and meet many people from all over the world. I'm back now, and have classes on Monday before heading out to Lady Elliot Island on Tuesday for my next field trip. Hopefully a few more dives, this time on the Great Barrier Reef, some turtle hatchings, and maybe a pina colada at the bar. Don't worry it's really for educational purposes, I promise! :-)
Check out the album, Finding Nemo.

http://uqedu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025625&l=5e4bd&id=44801562

Cheers!

Groynes, Training Walls, and Sand Bypass System

My Coastal Processes and Management class went on a field trip to the Gold Coast to look at sand movement. We started out at Point Danger right on the border of Queensland(QLD) and New South Wales (NSW). The Tweed River is just over the border in NSW. The long rock structures at the mouth of the river are called training walls. They are designed to improve navigability of the river entrance by keeping the sand from moving across the river mouth and making it impassable. They also narrow the channel to increase the velocity to keep the sand out of the way. The first training walls were built in about 1900 and are now back inland and new ones which we see now were built in 1962. In looking at the pictures, the land on the far side of the river and training walls is further out than on the near side. This is caused by longshore drift (LSD). LSD is the movement along Australia's east coast caused by prevailing winds out of the southeast. These winds and LSD are also part of the East Australian Current (EAC). For those of you who have seen Disney's Finding Nemo, the EAC is what Marlin goes along (remember the turtles) to find Nemo. Anyways, the LSD moves sand northward along the coast. The net movement is about 500,000 cubic meters per year, the highest in the world. Back to the Tweed River, remember that NSW is south of QLD and that LSD moves sand northward. NSW built the training walls which started trapping the sand causing a deficit along QLD beaches and with cyclones and normal beach movement buildings started falling into the water because the sand was moving northward and there was none to replace it. As we moved north to our next stop at Currumbin Beach we looked at the groynes, rock walls used to help retain sand, that were built to keep the Surf Life Saving Club building from being washed away. Since 1985 all the high rises that are built in the area, the sand from the basements all has to go to the beach as part of the beach nourishment program. When we stopped at Surfers Paradise for lunch I looked around at all the buildings and they must have had a lot of sand added to the beach! We then carried on to near the Nerang River to talk to a man who helped design the submerged breakwater and artificial reef to protect the Gold Coast Highway. Building started in 1999 of the artificial reef and then sand bagging to keep the 1 million cubic meters of sand pumped in, called beach nourishment. When I say sand bagging, don't think of the 50 pound bags you can carry. Try 300 tons per bag. The whole project cost around 8 billion Australian dollars. Our last stop was at the Southport Spit Sand Bypass System station. This system was set up around the entrance to the Gold Coast Broadwater, known as the Gold Coast Seaway. Training walls similar to the ones at the Tweed River were build, but this time the Queenslanders were thinking and had seen the problems caused by the Tweed. The Sand Bypass system was also built at the same time in 1986. Considered to be one of Australia's most significant coastal engineering projects, pumping some 500,000 cubic meters(give or take) about 1 1/2 km from the south side of the training walls to the north side to keep that LSD sand movement going. This is the world's first permanent sand bypassing system. A jetty or pier sticks out with a pump every 30 m. The pumps aren't run all at once. Each day measurements are taken to decide which one or ones are used and they are run each night between 9pm and 7am and on the weekends from 9pm Friday to 7 am Monday, using off-peak electricity times. The system moves about 600 cubic meters per hour. In the picture of the machine that takes out all of the non-sand objects, I talk about body parts. No joke. A man drowned down shore from the pumps and part of his body was found in the machine. Sad but true. Anyways, now back to the Tweed River. You may have noticed that there was a long pier near those training walls too. Well, after the system at the Gold Coast Seaway was built pressure was put on NSW to do something. In 2000 the Sand bypass system was completed at the Tweed River. Overall it was a very interesting and enlightening trip. Who knew the Aussie beaches were so complex?

Check out the album.


Looking back now on the first half of the semester I think it’s very interesting how I'm taking 4 classes from 3 different schools and they are all so interrelated. Things I learn in one are backed up in another. Maybe I really was right when I designed my major! :-)

Cheers! Megan

Kookaburras, Koalas & Kangaroos

This weekends adventure was to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. About 130 Koalas among other animals. The Sanctuary is home to many species of birds, including the kookaburra which I got to hear laugh similar to a song which you may have heard of. There were a couple of Dingos who were sleeping the day away, but the Tasmanian Devil wasn't on display unfortunately. Seeing the kangaroos jumping around and getting to hand feed a Joey was awesome. The coolest part of the day though was getting to cuddle with a koala and get my picture taken. His name is David and he's 7 years old. I had the photographer take a couple pictures with my camera which are in the album along with the rest of my pictures. I spent most of the day with a woman from Germany who is here taking an English class. She was kind enough to share the kangaroo food and take pictures of me with my new jumping friends. We also saw the sheep dog demonstration and while we were waiting I got to bottle feed a 6 month old calf. Very strong for being 6 months! Enjoy the pictures...

http://uqedu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024489&l=96762&id=44801562

Cheers!

Moreton Bay Research Station

G'day! Well, St Patrick's Day weekend was a fun one in the sun for me. Friday morning about half of my Australia's Marine Environment class loaded up on a coach(a bus) and rode to Cleveland on the coast and then took the vehicular ferry to North Stradbroke Island, aka Straddie. Once on the island we rode to the Moreton Bay Research Station, owned by UQ, where we would eat, sleep, and base our research projects out of. I stayed in a room with a girl from Massachusetts and 2 girls from the DC area. We had lunch and then walked along the rocky shore looking at the marine creatures and the different areas and impacts. We then walked to a beach area and looked at the sand dunes and the sandy shore. Lots of cool stuff to see. Went back to the station for afternoon tea and then when the tide was coming in took the big net out and learned about the various fish species in the area. Showers, a beautiful sunset, dinner, and planning out projects was the rest of the evening until I climbed into bed exhausted. Saturday, St Pats Day, was spent gathering supplies for our project, researching what we might find, and then we set out around noon for our first netting as the tide was going out. The catch wasn't as big as we hoped but still got some good results. We then worked in the computer labs starting our reports and relaxing until the incoming tide was at about the same level when we headed out again. This catch was much larger than the first which proved our theory about feeding times and patterns. The catch included 4 stingrays, another squid bringing the total to 2, another flounder and other cool stuff. We watched the sunset from the beach, then dinner, showers, and to the local pub for some green beers. Sunday was spent walking along the North Gorge Trail at Point Lookout. Point Lookout is the eastern most point in all of Queensland. 22 Mile Beach starts just below the trail. We went by the hill where a US Radar site was and along to the Blow Hole or Whale Rock, where the rocks form and area that at high tide the waves make a sound like a whale's blow hole. We spotted several pods of dolphins an the first of two manta rays. Further along the trail we stopped to talk about the high energy shore and when we did saw several turtles coming up for air, more dolphins, and the second manta ray. We stopped for ice cream and lunch at the point that Capt James Cook first saw on his exploration and then continued on to Cylinder Beach. We compared the beaches again and then to learn about what we couldn't see we used dead fish to lure worms out of the sand. The worms feed on the dead fish that wash ashore and when we held the fish in the swash(small waves where the water meets the sand) the little worms eventually came out. Lots of patience needed, but still really neat. We then walked along the beach further and got to go swimming and play in the waves before heading back to the ferry and to campus. Overall an excellent weekend! I hope you all enjoy.The two albums are divided up by the days. Good on ya!

http://uqedu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2023877&l=2900d&id=44801562
http://uqedu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2023860&l=29c63&id=44801562

Adventures around Brisbane

G'day! I've been working on more pictures and have posted the ones from this weekend and last. Last weekend I went to the city center and walked through the City Botanical Gardens(more of a park than botanical gardens), Queensland University of Technology Art Gallery, Queensland Parliament House, and the Queen Street Mall. This past Friday I went to City Hall and up the clock tower, walked around the museum on the main floor, then went to South Bank(across the river) and spent the afternoon at the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, and then walked along South Bank. Saturday I went to Mount Coot-Tha(about a 25 minute bus ride) and took a tour of the Botanical Gardens which despite the drought were beautiful. I then went to the Planetarium and saw the show Infinity Express and then they showed the star and planets you can see this time of year. Very interesting. I then went to the lookout at the top of the mountain(if you can call about 800ft a mountain) and unfortunately it was a bit cloudy and hazy so you couldn't really see to the coast as you normally can. I'll probably make another trip back there because it only costs me a $2 round trip bus ticket and hopefully get some better pictures. This coming weekend I have my first field trip so hopefully some underwater pictures will be in the next email. It's a 3 day trip to the Moreton Bay Research Station(http://www.cms.uq.edu.au/mbrs/) on North Stradbroke Island. According to my course profile(syllabus) "This modern research station can accommodate up to 100 people. The three-day program looks at the major marine environments such as rocky headlands, ocean beaches, and sheltered sandy and rocky shores. You may also take part in a small-group research project that will be written up individually for assessment."

Same album as first set. Page 2 has new pictures of the city center and Australian Money
http://uqedu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2023261&l=dd4ac&id=44801562

City Botanical Gardens, City Hall, and Parliament House
http://uqedu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2023665&l=ad987&id=44801562

Mt Coot-Tha Botanical Gardens and Lookout
http://uqedu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2023670&l=4e130&id=44801562

Enjoy!

Oz thus far

I've posted a few pictures so far of where I'm living, campus, and some wildlife. http://uqedu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2023261&l=dd4ac&id=44801562
My flat-mate(the guy I rent my room from) is Qing(pronounced like Ching) is from Beijing originally and works in the city. If you want to look on Google Earth or something similar I live at 57 Mitre Street in St Lucia QLD. The first week of classes went well. Found out about some more field trips. Will be going on four all together. I joined the SCUBA Club which meets on Thursday nights. The first two trips are both full and the third is when I'm on the first field trip, so it will be a few more weeks before I can dive with them. I'll still bring my snorkeling gear
and do laps at the pool with them after the BBQ/meetings for the next few weeks.
I hear some of you in the north east are in for some snowy weather. I hope you don't get buried again. I'll be thinking of you in my shorts with a heat index around 95!